Basic hen battery arrangements are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,002,494. In the more modern devices, eggs are carried from the cages arranged in a horizontal row by a separate conveying means associated with the said row and not, as in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 3,002,449, by a conveying means which is used simultaneously to carry away the droppings.
German Utility Model, published on Nov. 4, 1976, describes an arrangement of this kind having separate conveying means, eggs running down the sloping floor are prevented from colliding by means of an elastic band arranged in the free passage between the floor and the front wall of the cage, means beings provided for raising the said band. The purpose of this band is to halt the eggs laid by the hens, for a certain length of time, before they reach the conveyor belt. From time to time the band is raised, allowing the eggs to roll slowly, from their position at the front of the cage, onto the conveyor belt.